Festival of the Trees 4 – Hoarded Trees!

Check out the 4th Edition of the Festival of the Trees at Hoarded Ordinaries. Lorianne has included some great tree pictures, including fog- and lichen-draped pines and a wonderfully grotesque, be-burled spruce. And, as always, be sure to follow the links for another enjoyable ramble in the woods.

If you’re wondering what the above photo is doing in a post about trees, pinesaps are epiparasitic on trees.* They’re closely related to the better-known Indian pipes, but tend to be much more colorful, and bloom a couple months later here in Central Pennsylvania. After pollination, they tip their flower-cups toward the sky.

*(Update – the above post was written in extreme haste) Pinesaps derive their nutrients through the fungal symbionts of trees, which act as a nutrient bridge beween tree and flower. Botanists are divided on whether pinesaps are essentially parasitic, or whether they might give something back.

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6 Comments

Wow, I never knew pinesaps were so colorful. I’ve never seen them outside of books, and since my Newcomb’s wildflower guide has black-and-white drawings, I didn’t realize they look like pink Indian pipe.

I’m glad you liked the Festival pix: the post gave me good reason to go back & post some random images that were lying neglected in my photo archives. I love that be-burled spruce. Usually burled trees look like they’re pregant, but that one just looks deformed.